I hope all is well!
I am currently working on a project to launch a program we refer to as “salons.” The idea is to resurrect the public sphere, as it is understood to have existed during the emergence of capitalist economics. Our goal is to begin the conversations necessary to advance a local, sustainable, just and democratically led economy, one that is essentially “decoupled” from global capitalism. That’s the idea.
My question has to do with The Community Tool Box’s knowledge about such things. We envision bringing together community stakeholders, in open, transparent and dignified conversations, as the means to imagining a local, sustainable economy. Of course, the next step would be taking action.
Anything you may be able to provide in the way of research or case studies about such things would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for the great work you are doing!
Best,
Mike Shesterkin
SMSBF
Dear Mr. Shesterkin, We are terribly sorry it took us so long to respond to your exciting idea to encourage development of the public sphere. I believe the Community Toolbox (CTB) can provide useful info and tools. But first, we thought it might be helpful to share a little background:
Smaller public spheres are well known for being places where social capital is produced – especially bonding social capital – but as I think you are indicating, you would like to expand that to hopefully promote bridging social capital as well by bringing in a diverse group of people. If you aren’t familiar with the concepts of bridging and bonding social capital, it is brought up in the Ch 26, Section 8 link below, but here is a summary for quick reference:
“According to Robert Putnam, in Bowling Alone (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000), there are two kinds of social capital. Bonding social capital is the advantage people develop from relationships with those who are essentially similar to themselves. Bridging social capital is that gained from relationships with people who are quite different, whether in culture, race or ethnicity, economic status, politics, or other factors.” You can read more about the development of social capital and its relationship to citizen participation and empowerment, neighboring, and sense of community: Perkins, D.D., Hughey, J., & Speer, P.W. (2002). Community psychology perspectives on social capital theory and community development practice. Journal of the Community Development Society (Community Development), 33(1), 33-52.
You may already be familiar with this historical piece, but if not, it is worth reviewing to give you more of the history of the development of the public sphere in the 18th and 19th centuries.
http://www.mrjohnmiddleton.org/uploads/2/4/2/3/24233509/shaping_the_public_sphere-_english_coffeehouses_and_french_salons.pdf
For learning about action and application, a basic, but good place to start in the toolbox is Ch. 26, Section 8 (https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/implement/physical-social-environment/places-for-interaction/main). Make sure you click through the tabs towards the top of the page (these include a checklist, examples, etc).
To encourage inclusivity, you should browse through Chapters 6 & 7 in the CTB. These chapters cover communicating about your project as well as encouraging others to get involved. (https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest ; https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement). Also, the CTB offers a toolkit (#8) on increasing participation and membership in community work (https://ctb.ku.edu/en/increasing-participation-and-membership). This will help with the democratic expansion of a “salon.”
You mentioned sustainability, which is a crucial aspect for any community work or initiative. Review Ch 46 Section 1 on long-term sustainability of an initiative. Again, don’t forget to click through the tab near the top of the page that links to tools, examples, etc. (https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/sustain/long-term-sustainability/overview/main)
Re community democratic participatory budgeting, you may be interested in this new international grassroots coalition: https://www.peoplepowered.org/about
You might also be interested in micro-enterprise/micro-financing and other local grassroots sustainable economic programs, such as local currencies, the most famous of which is probably Ithaca Hours: http://www.ithacahours.com/ .
On a final note, if you are willing to engage in a little ethnographic research you (and others who want to lead this effort) might even consider being a participant observer in similar spheres (mentioned above) that currently exist, but that are more intimate and typically produce bonding social capital, such as the barbershop, beauty salon, coffee shop, etc. These are spaces like the 19th century French “salon” but not as democratic in that they are more “exclusive” through snowball invitations. However, they tend to be successful in producing social capital and engagement and may offer you local case studies from which to learn. In our age of technology and Covid, please also consider the usefulness/feasibility of virtual public spheres.
Good luck with your endeavor, and please consider writing about your efforts (including the successes and obstacles) so that others can learn from you.